Tag: folk

JJ Slater – Good News

     Combine some funk, and a bit of folk, mix well with some pop hooks and a fun lyric, and you’ve got a recipe for success. Or you do if you are JJ Slater and your song is Good News (seen/heard here). Good News is the leading track on his latest EP, titled simply JJ (October 2023), featuring JJ and a host of collaborators.  Good News is full of fun, and a joy to listen to, but the entire collection features well-written musical gems…

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Smoke Fairies – Vanishing Line

     Smoke Fairies have been around for nearly two decades, creating unique and wonderful folk, folk-rock, and alternative folk music for the masses. They’ve managed to dodge Vodka’s radar for a long time, but with the release of their 9th LP, Carried In Sound (November 2023), I discovered them while trolling Bandcamp. There are so many musicians out there and so much music to filter through (not all of it good) that it is easy to miss something that you should be following. Smoke…

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The Magpie Arc – Jack Frost

     While Jack Frost (seen/heard here) is from The Magpie Arc’s November 2022 LP, Glamour In The Grey, the progressive folk-rock group has just released (November 3, 2023) their digital download-only Anthology, which includes their first 3 EPs plus Glamour In The Grey in their entirety as a single 22-track offering. If you need an introduction to this magnificent band’s inventive, creative, and powerful sound, look no further! Jack Frost is the work of the late folk artist Mike Waterson, who…

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Sofia Talvik – Broken (Steel Guitars In Heaven) – House Concert Review

     Vodka has been to many house concerts this Summer even hosting one of them. That has made it a great Summer indeed. Sofia Talvik (with her husband, sound technician, and road engineer, Jonas Westin)  was the latest artist. I think my wife said it best: “From the moment she opened her mouth and began singing, she had me.” She introduced us to new music from her as yet unreleased LP (due out August 14, 2023), Center Of…

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Arielle Silver – Bramble Vine

     Arielle Silver first crossed Vodka’s path in 2020, and I was impressed. She had been making music at that point since around 2004, so she wasn’t new to the business. The review for What Really Matters appeared in March 2020, followed by the review for Headlights in May. With the pandemic happening during that time, many musicians had to get creative to continue to make money in the many months that followed. She hasn’t had an LP since 2020’s…

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